I had my first experience with the AEQ method about 3 years ago. I remember having kinesiological days and therefore had no intention of going to the introductory lecture. But because one of the lecturers canceled his presentation, it changed the whole schedule, and my partner and I decided to listen to an AEQ presentation. We didn’t know anything about the subject or the lecturer. The presentation itself was very different, it was about AEQ breathing. It left an imprint in my memory that I couldn’t shake off and therefore decided to attend a breathing workshop from one of the AEQ teachers a few months later.
The method was becoming more and more interesting to me. I do personal coaching, therapeutic exercise and also work with athletes. Even before learning about the AEQ method and AEQ breathing I’ve put big emphasis on regeneration, breathing, sleep and life rhythm as a trainer – on wholeness, not just on training and nutrition. I signed up for the AEQ Teacher seminar because the AEQ method felt like a sensible upgrade.
I was looking forward to visiting Brežice in September, and more it was approaching, the more I wanted to prepare. I listened to two parts of the podcast about the AEQ method and went over a textbook sent by Aleš. I thought I was ready and I’d get a lot of new knowledge on how to better understand others. And then came the first day of the seminar. Only after a few hours, I realized how much more profound this was – it blew my mind. After the first day, I was speechless. I was literally in shock – and not because something would be wrong – the insights and the connections between the laws of time, balance, thermodynamics, Newton’s laws and the workings of man were too much for my subconscious. I got a cold overnight. The second and the third day gave me the confirmation that this is not the type of knowledge where you study for a few weeks and then a get license.
I realized I wouldn’t be able to teach and understand others without first understanding myself. I knew I had inner work to do. I went home hopeful, full of insights but also slightly scared. I was terrified to find out what I’d done wrong in the past. It’s like I’ve realized more in three days than in my entire life – about myself, my behavior, my relationships, my movement and the natural laws that govern the behavior of all living things and non-living environments. I also met nine other “classmates” with whom we were at the seminar. I feel like I know most of them better than some of my childhood friends – and we spent only six days together.
After the seminar we stayed in touch through a Facebook group, where we practiced AEQ exercises, we talked a lot and helped each other. The feeling after the second part of the seminar was like I was just getting started. Although the license that I got went straight into a frame on the wall, I feel I will really understand myself as an AEQ teacher after I write all of my homework and study and understand all the knowledge given.
I see the AEQ Teacher seminar as my rebirth. It’s like there was a me before the seminar and a me after the seminar. As much broad knowledge, support and research opportunities as I got in those six days, I never got anywhere else. It is definitely an experience I would recommend to anyone who is “looking for something.” I was definitely looking for that “something.” I was looking for answers I didn’t get from school, from my parents and from any education or book I had read until the seminar. It felt like taking a red pill in the Matrix and discovering a whole new world. A path is waiting for me now, a path I have to walk on my own, while also having the support, the examples and a clear picture of where I want to go.
Niko Akrap, Teacher of AEQ Method® Level 1
